Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Lighthouse Prep is an exam-preparation application operated by Studytimer Pro, accessible via our website and Android application. For any privacy questions, contact us at studytimerpro@gmail.com.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information (Google Sign-In)

When you sign in with Google, we receive your display name, email address, and profile photo URL from Google OAuth. We do not have access to your Google password.

2.2 Study Data

We store the exam plans, study sessions, time-tracking data, wastage reports, and revision schedules you create inside the app. This data is tied to your account and stored in Firebase Realtime Database.

2.3 AI Interaction Data

When you request AI-generated MCQs, deep-concept explainers, or exam-plan analysis, your exam name, topic name, and relevant context are sent to our backend (a Firebase Cloud Function) which calls the OpenAI API. We do not permanently store your AI conversation history beyond what is needed to display results in the current session. OpenAI's data usage is governed by their own privacy policy.

2.4 Group Activity

If you join or create a study group, your display name, profile photo, and chat messages are visible to other members of that group. Shared library resources you upload are accessible to all group members.

2.5 Leaderboard

Your display name, profile photo, and weekly study hours are shown publicly on the global leaderboard. You can opt out by not participating — leaderboard data is only recorded when you complete study sessions.

2.6 Device and Notification Data

If you grant notification permission, we store your Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token to send you study reminders and group notifications. You can revoke notification permission at any time in your device settings.

2.7 Uploaded Images

Profile photos and group images you upload are compressed on-device before being stored in Firebase Storage. These images are accessible via a URL tied to your account.

If you upload a custom profile photo, the image is automatically screened for unsafe content before it is accepted. To do this, the image URL is sent to OpenAI's moderation service. If the image is flagged, it is deleted from our storage immediately and is never shown to anyone; your existing avatar remains unchanged and you can upload a different photo. We do not use your photo to train any AI model.

A custom profile photo you upload is visible to other users in the community, on the leaderboard, and in study groups. The profile photo URL we receive from Google Sign-In is used only inside your own account view and is not published to other users.

2.8 Guest Mode

If you use the app as a guest (without signing in), no data is sent to our servers. All study progress is stored locally on your device using localStorage and is not accessible to us. Clearing your browser or app data will permanently delete guest data.

2.9 Usage Data

We may collect basic technical information such as app version, device type, and operating system to diagnose errors and improve performance. This data is anonymised and not linked to your identity.

2.10 Focus Shield (Accessibility & App Blocking)

Focus Shield is an optional feature that blocks distracting apps you select while a study session is active. When you enable it, the app uses Android's AccessibilityService to detect only the package name of the app currently in the foreground. It does not read screen content, text, passwords, or any other on-screen information (canRetrieveWindowContent is disabled). The foreground package name is evaluated on your device in real time and is never collected, stored, or transmitted to us. The service is active only while Focus Shield is turned on during a study session. The list of apps you choose to block is stored locally on your device. Focus Shield also uses a display-over-other-apps overlay to show the "stay focused" screen and an optional floating study-timer bubble.

2.11 Voice Calls with Lumi (Microphone)

Lumi is an optional in-app AI voice assistant. When you start or answer a Lumi voice call, the app accesses your device microphone to capture your speech for the live conversation. The audio is streamed in real time to our AI voice provider (OpenAI) to generate Lumi's spoken responses; we do not record, save, or store your call audio. The microphone is used only during an active call. A foreground service keeps the microphone running if your screen locks mid-call so the call is not dropped, and a call-type foreground service with a full-screen notification is used to present incoming Lumi calls. You can decline or end a call at any time, and you can revoke microphone permission in your device settings.

2.12 Advertising

The Android app displays occasional interstitial ads through Google AdMob to users on the free tier. To serve these ads, AdMob may access a device advertising identifier and limited device information in accordance with Google's policies. Paid Pro subscribers do not see ads. We do not share your name, email, study data, or other account information with the ad network. See Google's privacy policy for how AdMob handles advertising data.

2.13 Direct Messages

The Community tab lets you send one-to-one messages to other members. The first message you send to someone arrives as a request, and a conversation only opens if they accept it. You can decline or block any member at any time, which stops further messages from them.

Please read this section carefully before using direct messages:

• Message content is stored on our servers. Your messages, the display names and avatars of both participants, and the time each message was sent are stored in Firebase Realtime Database so the conversation can be delivered and shown to you both.
• Messages are not end-to-end encrypted, and our team can read them. Direct messages are copied to an internal system that we use to operate the feature, respond to community messages, investigate abuse reports, and act on blocks. Please do not share passwords, payment details, identity documents, or any other sensitive personal information through direct messages.
• Some community profiles are operated by our team. Not every account shown in the Community tab is an independent user. Replies you receive from some community profiles are written by the Lighthouse Prep team rather than by another student.
• The person you message can see your profile. Your display name, avatar or custom profile photo, study streak, and study hours are visible to anyone you message, as they are elsewhere in the Community tab.

Starting a new conversation is a paid (Pro) feature. If someone messages you first, you can reply and continue that conversation whether or not you have a subscription.

2.14 Our YouTube Channels (YouTube API Services)

We publish short daily current-affairs videos on our own YouTube channels. Our server uploads these videos using YouTube API Services, signed in only to channels that we own.

• We do not collect YouTube data about you. Our YouTube integration uploads our own videos to our own channels. It does not read, store or share any information about viewers or other YouTube users, and you never sign in to YouTube through Lighthouse Prep.
• YouTube's terms and Google's privacy policy apply on YouTube. When you watch our videos on YouTube, YouTube's Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy apply.
• Access and deletion. The only Google sign-in our YouTube integration holds is for our own channels. It is kept on our servers and is never shown in the app. It can be removed at any time from Google Account permissions, after which we delete it from our servers. No YouTube data about you exists to delete; for any other data, see Section 7.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and personalise the study-planning, timer, and revision features
• To display your progress on the leaderboard and within study groups
• To generate AI-powered MCQs, concept explainers, and exam-plan suggestions
• To send push notifications for session reminders and group activity
• To calculate focus scores, streaks, and wastage analytics
• To process token purchases and verify payment eligibility
• To block distracting apps during a study session when you enable Focus Shield
• To carry live voice conversations with the Lumi AI assistant
• To deliver direct messages between community members, and to review them for safety, abuse handling, and support
• To screen uploaded profile photos for unsafe content before they are shown to others
• To show ads to free-tier users via Google AdMob
• To improve and debug the application

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored on Google Firebase infrastructure (Realtime Database and Storage) located in the Asia-Southeast region. Firebase applies encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest. Access to your data is controlled by Firebase Security Rules that restrict reads and writes to authenticated users acting on their own records.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no system is completely secure. We encourage you to use a strong Google account password and enable two-factor authentication on your Google account.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may process your data:

• Google Firebase — authentication, database, file storage, cloud functions, push notifications
• OpenAI — AI-generated content (MCQs, concept explainers, exam-plan analysis)
• Google OAuth — sign-in and identity verification
• Razorpay / Payment Gateway — token purchase processing (we do not store card details)
• Google AdMob — interstitial advertising shown to free-tier users in the Android app
• OpenAI (Realtime voice) — processes live microphone audio during Lumi voice calls to generate spoken responses
• OpenAI (Moderation) — screens uploaded profile photos and submitted text for unsafe content
• Google Sheets (Google Workspace) — internal workspace used by our team to review and respond to community direct messages
• YouTube API Services — uploading our own videos to our own YouTube channels (see Section 2.14; YouTube Terms of Service, Google Privacy Policy)

Each of these services operates under its own privacy policy. We recommend reviewing them if you have concerns about how they handle your data.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account and study data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data (name, email, photo, sessions, plans, and group activity) within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

Leaderboard entries and group chat messages you have posted may take up to 30 days to be fully removed from all caches after account deletion.

Direct messages are retained for as long as the conversation exists. Deleting your account removes your copy of your conversations. Because a direct message is also delivered to the person you sent it to, and copied to our internal review system, a message you have already sent may remain visible to that recipient and in our internal records after your account is deleted. Internal copies retained for safety and abuse-handling purposes are kept no longer than 24 months.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Correction — update your display name or profile photo via your Google account
• Deletion — request deletion of your account and all associated data
• Portability — export your study plans and session history in PDF or JSON format using the in-app export feature
• Opt-out of notifications — revoke notification permission in your device settings at any time
• Block and report — block any community member to stop them contacting you, and report messages or profiles you believe break our community guidelines

To exercise any of these rights, email us at studytimerpro@gmail.com.

8. Children's Privacy

Lighthouse Prep is intended for users aged 13 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Cookies and Local Storage

The app uses browser localStorage to store session preferences, guest study progress, dark-mode settings, and notification permission flags. We do not use third-party advertising cookies on our website. The Android app shows interstitial ads via Google AdMob to free-tier users, which may use a device advertising identifier as described in Section 2.12; the web version contains no ad network.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy. For significant changes we will notify you via an in-app message.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please reach out to us: